Former Catcher Mike Piazza Admires the Mets’ Pitching

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mike Piazza visited Mets camp Sunday for the first of three days with the team before it begins the exhibition schedule Thursday. Piazza, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in January, has noticed Yoenis Cespedes’s impressive car collection.

“I said, I don’t care what you drive, as long as you drive in runs,” Piazza said. “That’s the key.”

Piazza, who owns a Honda dealership in Langhorne, Pa., joked that he doubted he would see Cespedes in a Honda, though he mused that he could get him an Acura NSX.

“He’d be good for business,” Piazza said.

Piazza, who is working with the Mets’ catchers, said he was proud and grateful to be in the Hall of Fame, and that he was thrilled to get a congratulatory text message from Mike Schmidt, who starred for Philadelphia when Piazza was growing up nearby. Piazza will wear a Mets cap on his plaque, joining Tom Seaver, the only other player to do so. Before Christmas, Piazza called Seaver, who runs a winery in California, after hearing that Seaver had not been feeling well.

“I just wanted to reach out to him and see if I could get on his mailing list for his wine, which for some reason I haven’t been able to do,” Piazza said. “I figure maybe now I can sneak a case or two. It was just great to hear his voice. He’s been so supportive of me.”

Piazza was the centerpiece of the only Mets team to reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons, in 1999 and 2000. He said these Mets would have to deal with the challenges of high expectations and would not surprise other teams anymore.

But their starting pitchers give them a bright outlook, and Piazza made an apt comparison when asked how it would feel to catch them.

“It’s like driving a different sports car every day,” he said. “One day a Ferrari, the next day a Porsche.”

INDIANS SIGN URIBE The Cleveland Indians signed the veteran infielder Juan Uribe to a one-year contract.

Uribe will probably be the starting third baseman, replacing the second-year infielder Giovanny Urshela, who started 76 games last season.

Uribe, 36, ended last season with the Mets and had a run-scoring single in his only World Series at-bat.

He agreed to the deal with Cleveland more than a week ago but had to resolve visa problems to enable him to travel to the United States from his home in the Dominican Republic.

Uribe arrived at the Indians’ spring training complex on Saturday, underwent a physical and settled the deal.

In a 15-year career, Uribe has batted .256 and hit 192 home runs with the Dodgers, the Braves, the Mets, the Rockies, the White Sox and the Giants. (AP)

SORIANO SIGNS MINOR LEAGUE DEAL The former All-Star closer Rafael Soriano has signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays, the American League East champions, said Soriano, a right-handed reliever, would be invited to spring training.

Soriano, 36, pitched six games for the Chicago Cubs in July after signing as a free agent, going 2-0 with a 6.35 earned run average. His last full season came in 2014 with the Nationals.

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Juan Uribe, taking batting practice with the Mets in October, signed a one-year contract with Cleveland, where he is expected to play third base.CreditJulie Jacobson/Associated Press

An All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2010, Soriano ranks eighth among active pitchers with 207 career saves. He has also spent time with the Mariners, the Braves and the Yankees in his 14 seasons.

In the off-season, the Blue Jays also acquired the former Washington closer Drew Storen in a trade. (AP)

ORIOLES END PIE RITUAL Over the last several years, the Baltimore Orioles often celebrated victories with center fielder Adam Jones smashing a pie in the hero’s face. Now, the team has decided to end the practice for safety reasons.

The ritual became so ingrained that Jones arranged with a local bakery to furnish the pies. Not all players were fond of Jones’s antics, which generally came when an Orioles player was being interviewed on television.

“It’s no one’s fault,” Jones wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “It’s just about safety. At the end of the day it can be dangerous so we’re being smart.” (AP)

MACHADO LOOKS TO STAY HEALTHY Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was the only major leaguer to play in all 162 games in 2015. He would like to do the same this year.

Last spring, he entered camp full of uncertainty. He had his second knee operation in two years, and hoped for a complete season.

It was definitely that: Machado hit .286 with 35 home runs and 86 R.B.I. and stole 20 bases.

He was proud of those numbers, but also of the 162. “I’m going to do everything possible to play every game,” he said. “It was a great accomplishment last year.”

Around the Orioles, streaks are a big deal: Cal Ripken Jr. holds the major league record of playing 2,632 consecutive games.

Machado, who is 23, would have to play every game for more than 15 years to threaten Ripken, but according to Manager Buck Showalter, that’s not going to happen. “Cal’s not in jeopardy,” Showalter said.

At the end of last season, Machado campaigned for the Orioles to bring back their top free agents. Chris Davis, Darren O’Day and Matt Wieters are back.

Machado is still three seasons away from free agency, and while Baltimore has explored a long-term agreement with him, nothing concrete has been established.

“They’re trying to keep everybody here,” he said. “That’s good for me. I hope they keep me here long term. But the case is you can’t sign everybody. You can’t bring everybody back. It’s just part of the business.” (AP)

DODGERS WILL OPEN WITH KERSHAW Clayton Kershaw has been chosen to pitch on opening day for the Dodgers for the sixth straight year.

Los Angeles Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Sunday that Kershaw was his choice for the April 4 opener against the Angels, saying, “We’ve checked that box.”

Kershaw was 16-7 last season with a 2.13 E.R.A. and 301 strikeouts. He became the first pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts since 2002.

A sixth opening-day start ties him for third with Fernando Valenzuela in Dodgers history. Don Sutton and Don Drysdale each had seven. (AP)

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D6 of the New York edition with the headline: Former Catcher Piazza Admires the Mets’ Pitching. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe